Hold On My Heart
by Loopy45
Summary: Characters are the same, but they're all in high school. I know it's been done to death, but I thought it sounded fun. I'm not good at summaries - just read the story, I'm sure you'll enjoy it... I hope. ;P  Note title change, due to infringement issues.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: I do not own Law and Order: SVU or anything related. If I did, you can bet your ass that Elliot and Olivia would be together. _

_Enjoy the story.(:_

Whispers echoed throughout the room, some louder than others, but all seemingly urgent and, unbeknownst to the different groups, all were discussing the same thing.

"A new student?"

"We haven't had anyone new since –"

"Have we **ever** had a new student?"

"Of course we've had a new student before, you idiot."

All conversations were cut short as a timid knock sounded on the other side of the door; everyone waited as the doorknob slowly turned and in she walked. Anyone who held any thought that the new student would be weird or wouldn't fit in was immediately silenced; in fact, anyone who held any train of thought at all could only sit back slack-jawed as all coherent thought flew out the window. She was beautiful – not typically pretty as they had seen elsewhere in the school, not falsely gorgeous, she was naturally and completely beautiful.

The girls in the class, of course, began gossiping, making guesses on who she was or where she came from or why she had chosen to transfer; the popular girls immediately began the petty game of slandering the girl who seemed so unnervingly captivating to all the men in the classroom.

"I love her outfit!"

"Are you kidding me? Probably picked it up for three dollars at a secondhand store."

"Well, her hair is pretty cute."

"Probably cut it herself – it doesn't even look professional."

Everyone seemed ecstatic at the prospect of the new girl, most were even hoping to become her friend, but one group in the front of the classroom decided to be against her and all she stood for as soon as she crossed the threshold into the classroom. This group was known to many as 'The Melos," and not because they were exceedingly calm; far from it, they were so aptly named because of their tendencies to be extremely melodramatic, blowing everything out of proportion.

The "leader" of the group was none other than Kathy McDonald, the self-proclaimed most popular girl in school. She was your typical New York "I-think-I'm-better-than-all-of-you" teenager – tall, blonde, fashionable – but she wasn't necessarily blessed with the gift of beauty. She was pretty, sure, but she wasn't even close to being considered anything other than ordinary.

"Excuse me. Can I help you, Miss…" said Mr. Roberts.

"Benson. Olivia Benson, pleased to meet you." Olivia, the new girl, extended her hand for the teacher to shake. "I'm a new student here, and it says here on my schedule that my first class of the day is yours."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Benson, you can have a seat in the back there."

As Olivia walked between the desks to the back of the classroom, she could hear the whispers and hushed conversations, and figured that they were more than likely about her. She tried her best to ignore the looks she got and took her seat upon reaching her desk. The boy sitting behind her tapped her on the shoulder and when she turned around to see what he wanted, she was greeted with a pair of friendly green eyes and an extended hand.

She grasped the young man's hand and whispered, "Hi. I'm Olivia, and you are?"

"My name's Fin," he said, "and that there is my buddy John."

He pointed to the occupant of the desk to the left of Olivia and she turned to introduce herself to John as well.

"Nice to meet you." She said.

"The pleasure is all mine, Olivia."

At this point, Mr. Roberts had dispelled the whispers in the classroom, and addressed the students. "John, Fin, fill Olivia in on what we've been doing and help her if she needs it. The rest of you, get into small groups and work on reviewing for the test tomorrow."

There were groans all around at the idea of a test in the first week of school, but everyone got down to studying, giving John and Fin a chance to get to know Olivia more.

"So, Olivia," John began, "what other classes do you have?"

"Oh, well after this I have Sociology, Psychology then lunch, and after lunch I have Advanced Calculus and then Anatomy and Physiology. I'm dropping this class, though."

"Why you dropping this class, Baby Girl?" stated Fin.

"Uh, Baby Girl?"

"Yeah, I don't know why I said it, it just kind of happened."

Olivia giggled at this. "Alright, I'm fine with you calling me Baby Girl, just don't start giving people the wrong idea." At this, she winked at Fin, to let him know she was teasing. "But, to answer your question, I'm dropping because I've already taken this class. Took it last year at my old school."

"Wait, how did you take it last year? It's a strictly senior class, and you were a junior last year, right?"

"Well, yeah. Technically I was a junior, but I've always been ahead of my classmates. They've always put me in the advanced classes, and I just go with it."

"Geeze," Fin sighed, "who takes Advanced Physics their junior year?"

"Like I said, I just kind of go with it."

"So," said John, "what class are you thinking of replacing this one with?"

"I don't know, do you guys have any Creative Writing classes here?"

At this statement, John and Fin exchanged glances, causing Olivia to furrow her brow and raise her eyebrow in confusion. "What?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing Baby Girl. It's just that, if you switch into a Creative Writing class you'll have all of your classes with our buddy Elliot."

"Is that a bad thing?" Olivia questioned.

"No, not at all, we just don't know if you're going to be able to put up with him for 7 hours a day." Explained John.

"And what makes you think that I couldn't handle it?"

"It's just that, well, Elliot's got issues, and he has a little bit of a temper sometimes."

"You're preachin' to the choir about issues, boys, trust me."

The two didn't have time to question what Olivia meant, as the bell rang, signaling the end of class. "Well, Baby Girl, I suppose we'll see you at lunch. You will sit with us, right?"

"Of course I will," Olivia chuckled, "but right now I have to get to Soc. I'll see you guys later."

"Bye!" the two exclaimed simultaneously as all three went their separate ways.

The first thing Olivia noted upon entering the Sociology classroom is that the atmosphere was much more relaxed. _Apparently, I'm yesterday's news now. Thank goodness, though, all that attention on me was pretty unnerving. _Olivia thought.

All of the students were leaned back in their desks, slouching and holding amiable conversations with one another, none of which seemed forced or secretive. She felt relaxed in this room, and made eye contact with everyone that looked at her as she walked towards the teacher's desk to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Olivia Benson, I just transferred here."

"Pleased to meet you, Olivia. My name's Mr. Blaskovich, but all of my students call me Blasko. Please, have a seat wherever you'd like."

Olivia glanced around the classroom, deciding where the best place for her to sit would be. She decided on a seat in the back row, noting that many people in the front row looked as though they would attack her with conversation should she choose to sit there, and she just wasn't ready to deal with that quite yet. As she sat down, she took off her messenger bag to hang it on the back of her chair, and accidentally knocked the pencil off of her desk in the process. Apparently she wasn't quick enough to react, as when she went to grab her pencil her gaze fell upon a pair of striking blue eyes, and for a moment it seemed as though she were glancing into the pools of heaven itself.

In that moment, she saw pain and suffering in the eyes of this boy, but the emotion was quickly replaced by a blank sort of stare. "I believe you dropped this." The boy said, handing her the pencil that had fallen off of her desk.

"Oh, thank you." She blushed. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I've met you yet. I'm Olivia." She said, extending her hand for what felt like the umpteenth time that day.

The boy took her hand, sending an electric shock up her arm and filling her whole body with a sense of warmth. They both looked down at their joined hands, and then looked back up at each other, eyes filled with confusion.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Olivia. I'm Elliot."

With that, the two let go of one another's hands, and faced the board, both with the same thought in their mind: _What in the __**hell**__ just happened?_

_So? What'd ya think?_

_I'm not gonna put another chapter up unless I get (at least) 5 reviews, so go ahead and hit that little button at the bottom of this page and let me know what you think. Criticism is welcome – I'm always open to ways to better my writing._

_Love and peace to all and whatnot. ;D_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys – thanks so much for the reviews! It's really appreciated; I hope my writing is understandable and grammatically correct. I don't do the whole 'beta' thing, so all mistakes are my own._

_Um, I'll probably not be able to update this story as quickly as I'd like – I have school and whatnot, and I write all these chapters out with regular old pencil and paper (oh, the blasphemy!) before I type 'em up, so I'll probably update about once a week at the __**slowest.**__ More updates will come from weekends than weekdays, I can assure you. _

_Just thought I'd let you know, this story is mainly focused on Elliot and Olivia, but they probably won't have a romantic relationship until later in the story. The way I've set it up, Elliot and Olivia have both had their fair share of problems in their lives, and they both have trouble trusting people. So, they're gonna be friends for a while before they're "romantically involved."_

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own Law & Order: SVU, nor anything related to the show or its characters. _

_So, enough of my ranting. Without further adieu, I'd like to welcome you to Chapter Two of __Hold on My Heart. __Please, enjoy your stay. ;D_

As the class wore on, Olivia found that things between her and Elliot were quickly growing into a blossoming friendship. .The two of them seemed to be the only ones genuinely interested in the subject matter the class had to offer, and throughout the class period they found themselves helping one another and holding quiet debates when they disagreed on something. Though Olivia would never admit it out loud, she began to enjoy the verbal sparring matches between Elliot and herself.

When the bell rang to dismiss the class, Olivia stood up, began putting her materials into her bag and threw it over her shoulder along with her coat. Elliot had waited for her, she noticed, and they were the last ones to walk out of the classroom.

"So, what are the chances that I get to walk a beautiful girl to her next class?" Elliot questioned.

"Well," Olivia responded, "I'm sure one of the girls around here wouldn't mind…" She looked around the halls in a mocking manner.

"Ha. Ha. You're hilarious. I meant you, Liv."

Olivia blushed at Elliot calling her beautiful, and the nickname. _Where did that come from?_ Olivia wondered. She nodded, mumbled "Let's go" and headed off in the direction of the Psychology classroom with Elliot following closely at her side. He placed a gentle hand on the small of her back and led her to an open seat next to his desk in the front of the classroom. As soon as she sat down, a pair of muscular arms caged her into her desk; her senses were overcome with an unmistakably masculine smell, and she visibly tensed as the memories came rushing in.

* * *

_**August 23, 2001**_

_**Benson Household**_

_**Sacramento, CA**_

_ "Hello, Olivia." The voice seemed to come from nowhere, yet everywhere at the same time. She's standing in the kitchen, and as she turns around to see the source of the noise, two muscular arms appear on either side of her, locking her in place against the kitchen wall. She closes her eyes, and lets her other senses take over. She smells the alcohol on his breath, and can feel the heat of his body as he moves closer and closer to her trembling form. Olivia tries to block it out, to tell herself that it'll all be over soon, but he's having none of it._

_ He roughly grabs her chin, forcing her face upward and pushes it back against the wall. "Open your eyes, girl." She does as she's told, and before she can even blink, his lips are forced against hers. She places her hands on his chest, tries to push him off, but he's stronger, and just takes her wrists in his hands and holds them captive above her head. His mouth moves off of hers, following a trail down to her collarbone and back up to below her earlobe, at the peak of her jaw line. His hands move to the hem of her t-shirt, lifting it up and off of her shoulders. _ What's going on?_ Olivia thought._ He's never gone this far, never taken it to this extreme._ He throws her on the ground, and is on top of her in an instant, his legs straddling her hips and his hands on either side of her head. Olivia throws up a prayer, for the first time in her life, she prays to be saved. She's never been a religious person, but figured that now was the time to start, if there ever was one._

_ Just as his wandering hands reach the button of her jeans; the door slams open, followed by a chorus of "Police! You guys search the upstairs, I'll start down here." She hears footsteps in the doorway behind her, and a strong voice saying, "Mr. Benson, you are under arrest for the manufacturing of methamphetamines with intent to sell. Put your hands where I can see them and step away from the minor."_

_ "The hell I will." Came the grumbled response of the man currently hovering over Olivia._

_ "Mr. Benson, if you do not step away from the minor you will put me in a position to forcefully remove you from the premises. Either come with me now willingly, or face resisting arrest being added to your charges." _

_ The man got up, slowly, and walked towards the detective with his hands raised above his head. The detective instructed an officer to arrest the man, and walked over to Olivia. "Are you okay, Miss….?"_

_ "Benson. Olivia Benson." She said, as she slowly rose to her feet and grabbed her t-shirt off the floor. She nodded her head. "And yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get out of here."_

_ "It's okay Miss Benson," the detective said, "you're safe now. You're free."_

_

* * *

_

Returning to the present, Olivia locks her gaze onto the pair of bright blue eyes trying to connect with hers, and she vaguely hears Elliot's deep voice asking her if she's alright. As he grabs her hand, she's sure she can see the pain and fear of her past reflected in his eyes, but then it's gone, replaced with concern. Concern for _her_, she realizes.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine, El, thanks."

"Okay? Are you sure?" He lifted her chin, making sure she made eye contact with him, "I'm here. If you need to talk about it, we can leave, go somewhere more private."

"Yeah, it's good. I'm fine. I'll talk to you about it someday, if it comes to it, but you don't need to worry about it right now. You don't need to take care of me, El. We've only known each other for, what, an hour and a half?"

"I know that I don't need to take care of you, Liv, I _want _to. I have a feeling we're more alike than either of us realize."

Liv blushed and nodded, silently telling Elliot that she felt the same way. One look into his eyes, and she knew she was destined to be friends with this man forever, if not more. All she could think was the fact that this day, these moments, she realized that there were people in the world who truly cared for her, and she couldn't be happier.

_Okay, guys. That's all I've got for now. Sorry. _

_I have the next chapter kinda-sorta-almost done, so I should have that up sometime this weekend, but after that I'm not sure when I'll get another update out. Next chapter'll be longer – I promise.(:_

_I'll try and get at least two updates out per week, but I can't promise anything what with school and work and everything else. _

_**Review? **;__D_

_Much love and peace and whatnot; keep happy, with smiles on those beautiful faces.3_


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright, guys. Here's the new chapter! _

_Sorry it took so long for me to update; being sick kind of limits how much I can write/type, haha._

_BUT, here it is, I tried to make it a little longer than the last couple._

_Oh, and all the reviews I'm getting are good – don't get me wrong, I __**love **__that – but, I'd like you guys to criticize my writing, too. I need to know what I need to do to make it better. _

_So, read and review/criticize, please. I'll try to update sooner next time. :D_

_**Disclaimer: **__I don't own 'em._

_

* * *

_

The leaves crunched under Olivia's feet and the early morning breeze flowed around her as she walked to school. It had been a month since her first day at the new school, and she couldn't be happier with the path her life had chosen. Olivia and Elliot had grown closer over time, and she got along great with his group of friends, who had been introduced to her shortly before lunch.

As Elliot crossed her mind, though, she recalled that he hadn't been at school the previous day, and the worry once again set in. She hoped against all hopes that he wasn't hurt, and made it a point to talk to him about it today, if he was there.

Out of habit, she scanned the student parking lot as she got closer to the school, attempting to see which of her friends were already at the school; silently thanking a God she didn't believe in, Olivia's sprits lifted as she noticed Elliot's truck parked haphazardly next to George's car. George was Olivia's best friend at the school, besides Elliot. She had hit it off with him as soon as they'd been introduced, and had been almost inseparable for about 3 weeks. They still were described as "two peas in a pod," but they spent time apart from one another, too, to spend time with their other friends. He was a year younger than the rest of the group, so he didn't have any classes with Olivia, but she helped him study for the classes that she'd already taken, and that's how they spent a lot of their time. She laughed slightly at the image before her: George's Prius was being shown up and completely overtaken by the size of Elliot's truck – it was eerily similar to the two people themselves.

She unzipped her light jacket as she walked through the doors of the school and headed down the hallway, allowing a small smile to grace her features as she spotted Casey leaning casually against her locker.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you Benson? We're going to be late to first hour."

"Oh, hush up, Casey." Olivia responded, opening her locker and grabbing her notebook, "Why do you insist on waiting for me if you don't want to be late? You know I rarely go to my locker anyway; I'm only here right now because I forgot to grab my notebook yesterday."

"I still don't understand how you can carry around that messenger bag all day. It has all your books in it; doesn't that hurt your shoulder?"

"Nah, you get used to it; I just don't like going to my locker after every class to put books away and grab more, it's a waste of time. Now come on, we've got to get to class."

Olivia shouldered her bag and headed down the hallway; she knew Casey was following her, but she walked faster, ahead of her. She didn't feel like talking, she just wanted to get to class and figure out what was up with Elliot. As soon as she entered the Creative Writing classroom, she glanced up to see Elliot sitting in his desk, his head lowered and pencil moving gracefully across the pages of his notebook. _Not surprising, _she thought to herself and smirked, _he probably forgot to do his homework… again._

She walked slowly towards her desk, trying to come up with a way to ask Elliot what had happened without being too invasive. He, like herself, was an extremely closed up person; both he and Olivia had slowly taken apart one another's walls, taking them down brick by grief-filled brick. They still didn't know much about the other's life stories and what they'd been through, but they were getting there. Olivia sat down in her desk, the one near Elliot's of course, and turned herself so that her body was facing him. "El," she said, "why weren't you here yesterday?"

"Don't want to talk about it." Came the gruff response.

"El, you can talk to me. You know that."

"Liv, I don't _want_ to talk about it." His voice had a rough quality, more so than normal, and Olivia thought it sounded as though he had been yelling a lot lately, and this worried her.

"Okay. We don't have to talk about it, but will you at least turn and look at me so I can see that you're alright?"

Elliot raised his head, but looked directly in front of him. "El," Olivia placed a hand gently on his forearm, "El, turn towards me." He did, and as soon as Olivia saw, her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach and she tightened her grip on Elliot's arm slightly, tensing instinctively.

* * *

_**June 2000**_

_**Benson Household**_

_**Sacramento, CA**_

_ Olivia wasn't sure which had woken her: the harsh, incessant pounding of blood against her skull, or the assault of her father's fists against her bedroom door. "Olivia!" she heard her father's deep voice echo through the thin wood, "Olivia, if you don't open this door soon you won't have one!"_

_ Agonizingly, she pulled herself out from under her blanket, immediately missing the warmth and comfort it had provided. She stepped slowly towards the door, the blood rushing to her head as soon as she stood up, almost knocking her over with the onslaught of dizziness. She regained her balance quickly and called out, "I'm coming, sir. Just, hold on."_

_ "Don't tell me to hold on, girl! Open this damn door right now or I'm kicking it down! Do you hear me? I will rip –" _

_ His words were cut short as Olivia pulled open the door and met his furious gaze. "Yes, sir?" she asked meekly._

_ "Why was your door locked?" he seethed._

_ "I don't know, sir. I must have accidentally locked it when I got home last night."_

_ "Don't lie to me!" he yelled, and struck her cheek with the back of his hand. "You're a lying bitch, just like your mother!"_

_ Olivia could smell the alcohol radiating off of him in waves, and instinctively tensed her muscles to prepare for the pain. He struck her once more, hitting her temple this time, and she fell to the ground. She knew at this point that talking would only upset him more, so she brought up her arms to cover her face and tried to block out the pain as his feet came crashing upon her repeatedly, bruising her pale skin._

_

* * *

_

She shook her head as the memory faded, and turned her attention back to the bruise on the left side of Elliot's cheekbone. "Oh my God, El! What happened to you?" Her eyes connected with his, silently pleading with him not to close up on her, to rebuild his walls and keep her out. _Let me in, _she thought.

"Not here," he said.

That was all Olivia needed to hear. Without any further thought, she stood up, threw her bag over her shoulder and grabbed Elliot's hand, leading him out of the classroom. The teacher looked at her and was about to ask where she was going, but Olivia shot a look in his direction that immediately silenced his protests. Casey looked on in shock as her friend led Elliot out of the classroom; she knew, like everyone else, that Elliot didn't let people in. He didn't make friends easily, he didn't open up about his problems, and he sure as hell didn't let people break down the walls he had worked for so long to build up, especially people he had only known for a month! She noticed for the first time that Elliot and Olivia have grown closer than they themselves probably haven't even realized. _Well, thank goodness, _she thought, _that poor boy needs someone he can be his complete self around. Maybe they'll both help each other out._

Olivia led Elliot down the hallway and to a door that Elliot had never noticed before. He decided not to question Olivia as she opened the door and dragged him down a small flight of stairs. She continued down a long, dimly lit hallway and finally stopped outside of a heavy wooden door. Pushing hard, she managed to get the door open as a cloud of dust engulfed the two of them. Coughing slightly, she pulled Elliot into a small room that contained no furniture and two small lamps, which provided almost no light. Olivia sat down on the carpeted floor and looked at Elliot, silently instructing him to join her.

"Where are we?" he asked, slowly lowering himself into a sitting position, "I've never seen this place before."

"We're underneath the auditorium stage," replied Olivia, "I come here when I need to think. It's quiet."

"How did you find it?" questioned Elliot. He looked around and nodded his head in agreement, "It is pretty quiet. Peaceful."

"I was just exploring one day, and stumbled upon it."

"It's cool. Kind of creepy, but you're right, it seems like a good place to think."  
"Yeah," Olivia agreed, "it's nice for relaxing and reflecting on the day. I thought it would be a good place to talk privately. You can scream your heart out, no one will be able to find their way down here." She chuckled quietly.

"Liv," he began, "I'll tell you what happened, but it's a long story. I'll have to start from my childhood. I don't want you to interrupt me, and when I'm finished I don't want you to pity or think any less of me. Will you promise me that?"

"Of course, El. I could never think anything less of you. You're a great man, and no matter what you say, that will never change."

"Alright. Well, here it goes, then. When I was born, my parents couldn't have been happier. They had been trying for years to have a child, and they considered me a gift from God because about a year before I was born, the doctors told my mom that she couldn't have children. After learning that, things began to fall apart between my parents. When my mom figured out that she was pregnant with me, she couldn't believe how lucky she was. Soon after she told my father, their relationship began to improve.

"Things were going great for a few years, but around my third birthday they began to fight again. It wasn't too bad, at first; it started off with small looks of disdain, but then they started arguing. They argued a lot over the next couple years. I'm surprised they even stayed together, you know? I figured they only stayed together for my sake.

"Well, the arguments began to increase in violence and in volume, and before I knew what was happening, they wouldn't even talk to each other. Shortly after my eighth birthday, my father lost his job. He blamed it on my mom and I, and he started drinking heavily. When he drank, he became violent, and I learned the hard way that when he became violent he liked to hit things… and people.

"I convinced him somehow not to hurt my mom, because it's not right to hit women. But, that didn't stop him from coming after me. My father has been abusing me since I was eight years old, Liv."

Olivia had a guess that this was where Elliot's story was headed, but she couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her lips. She gently grabbed Elliot's hand, encouraging him to continue; he entwined their fingers, and gave her hand a slight squeeze before continuing.

"Yesterday my father got home at around 4:00 in the morning, after a particularly long bar hopping stint with his buddies. I was asleep when he walked in, but apparently he didn't want it to stay that way. He stomped up the stairs and slammed my door open. The noise was enough to wake me up, but before I could even sit up and register what was happening, he grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me off of my bed. I fell down, and he told me to get up and face him like a man. I said I wouldn't fight him and he said, 'Stop being a little bitch. Get up off the ground and fight me.' I refused again, and he kicked me in the stomach and told me that if I didn't get up and fight, he would hurt my mom.

"This struck a nerve, and he knew it. I didn't want to fight him, Liv, but he threatened someone I love, and that made me see red. I was so angry at him, and I just started fighting. I got a few good hits in and so did he; that's where this bruise came from. He was the most intoxicated that I'd ever seen him, and I actually ended up getting a leg up in our fight. I punched him in the stomach and he just fell. I told him to get out. I said, 'Get all your stuff and get out of my house. If you leave now I won't hurt you, but I promise you that if you come within 50 feet of this house or anyone I love, I will kill you.'

"He looked up at me, and he could see the anger in my eyes. He could tell that I wasn't lying, I think, and that's what caused him to grab his things and walk out the front door. He didn't come back all day, and he didn't come back last night. I – I think I might finally be free, Liv."

His voice cracked slightly on her name, and a small tear found its way down his cheek. That's all it took for Olivia to pull him towards her, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug. She ran her fingers through his short hair and whispered soft words of comfort in his ear.

"Shhh, I understand, El… it's alright to cry… it's okay, I'm here… I understand."

* * *

They sat this way for what seemed hours, but was only in reality about 15 minutes. Elliot had relaxed into Olivia's embrace, wrapping his long arms around her waist tentatively. His breathing eventually slowed to match hers, and he finally looked up into her eyes, so warm he thought he could melt in them, and probably would have if the situation were different. As it were, he averted his gaze and muttered a small "thank you." Olivia could have laughed at the adorable look on his face, somewhat of a mix between embarrassment and shame. She told him that there was no reason to thank her, that she was just being a good friend.

"Wait a second. Liv, you kept saying 'I understand,'" Elliot stated, "what do you mean? How could you possibly understand?"

"El, you're not the only one with issues," she joked, trying and failing to lighten the mood. "Before I moved here, I lived in Sacramento with my parents. My mom was a drunk who was barely home, and my dad took advantage of that. He would go out and get drunk, or stay in and get drunk, I suppose, whichever played to his fancy that night. Anyway, he would get drunk and he would beat me. He told me that I was a liar, and a slut, just like my mom. One night, he attempted to rape me. The cops showed up just as I had given up, and they took my dad into custody for making and attempting to sell Meth.

"The detectives at Sacramento's Special Victims Unit found out that one of my mom's old friends lives here in the city, and that she is my godmother. They sent me here to live with her instead of putting me in foster care, and I've been with her for the past year or so."

She finished her story quickly, and looked up at Elliot to gauge his response. What she saw in his eyes was not at all what she expected – she saw guilt, and fear, and even admiration, but what stood out the most was the emotion shining brightly through all the rest, the emotion that made her want to help Elliot out any way she could, to get him out of the situation he was in. The emotion she saw? Love.

* * *

_Alright, there ya have it! Hope that it lived up to all your expectations._

_Remember, review, and please **criticize**; all mistakes, grammar and otherwise, are mine and mine alone, so you can just deal with it. :P_

_Love and peace to all and whatnot. :D_


	4. Chapter 4

_I'M SORRY! I KNOW THAT I HAVEN'T UPDATED, BUT I'VE BEEN A LITTLE BUSY WITH FAMILY ISSUES._

_You guys are probably stoked that there's a new chapter, but I'm gonna have to let you down on that front._

_HOWEVER - please, please, I beg of you: read this "chapter" that I just posted, don't just close out of this. I hope that this will affect (effect?) you as much as it has me._

_I'll have a new chapter up soon - I promise - I even have, like... 3/4 of it written already. _

_Read, please? I'll make the next chapter extra long (like, 6,000 words) if you follow the directions at the bottom of the page and make a small donation. ;D_

* * *

Alright, here we go. So, there's this group that I've taken a recent interest in – The Invisible Children Foundation. What they do, really, is try to spread awareness about the atrocities occurring in Central Africa right now.

The war in Northern Uganda has been ongoing for 25 years now – **a quarter of a century!** For those 25 years, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA, led by Joseph Kony) and the Government of Uganda have been involved in a war that's left nearly 2 million innocent civilians to die in the crossfire. When Joseph Kony took command of the LRA, approval and support for his cause depleted; Kony resorted to abducting children and forcing them into his ranks. An estimation of 90% of his troops were abducted as children.

In 1996 the Ugandan government forced the evacuation of thousands into camps in hopes of protection from the LRA, and over a decade later an estimated 1 million civilians still in the camp are struggling for survival in what has become their new home, facing poverty, disease and near-starvation.

In 2001, the LRA was officially declared a terrorist organization, and in 2004 Congress passed the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act; in 2005, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Joseph Kony and four of his henchmen.

The LRA have now placed their cruel touch upon the DR Congo and Southern Sudan, proving that an effort for peace is failing. More than 104,000 Congolese have been displaced since Christmas 2008.

In an effort to put an end to the 25 years of war that has ravaged Africa, Invisible Children has created a Protection Plan. The outcome? A communication network, providing for an early-warning system to surrounding communities to the location of the LRA; to rescue children abducted by the LRA; and to provide each child rescued with access to rehabilitation.

On April 25, join me in a silence that will be heard around the world. By staying silent for 25 hours (7:00p.m. April 24 – 8:00pm April 25), we will speak up for the citizens of Uganda by not speaking. Why silence, you might ask? Because the cries for help of millions in Central Africa are being silenced by Joseph Kony.

Please, if you can, help me to make a donation to help fund the protection plan. I'm only looking to raise 100 dollars – that's 10 dollars from 10 of you (out of how many people are reading this world-wide?) or even just a dollar. Every cent matters. Please, help me make a difference by making a small donation to my personal fundraising page: .org/member/ic-fundraising?fcid=18549

If you have any questions, or want to know more, just shoot me a private message – I'll be glad to answer **any **questions.


	5. Chapter 5

_Gahhh. The link in that last "chapter" got cut off. _

Just look in my profile if you're kind enough to donate! THANK YOU! It would be so much appreciated.

_Please donate?_

_Much love.3_


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